31 May 2007 Edition

As I had my last sup of tea and bite of toast to sustain me for what would inevitably be a long Friday at the Dublin City election counts at the RDS, I heard a radio trailer for George Michael's gig next month also at the RDS. George was singing: "I gotta have faith." How right you are, George. Free article

The retired soldier Mike Jackson has acknowledged that innocent people were killed on Bloody Sunday. He stopped short of saying that all of the people murdered that day by British Paratroopers were innocent, leaving himself wriggle room should the Saville enquiry reach a different conclusion. Free article

As tallying got under way at the Dublin South West count centre in Tallaght on Friday morning it soon became clear that Sinn Féin TD Seán Crowe would be struggling to retain his seat. Votes cast in the constituency favoured the candidates of the outgoing government - Conor Leinihan and Charlie O'Connor of Fianna Fáil and the so-called alternative - Brian Hayes of Fine Gael and Pat Rabbitte of Labour. There is no down-playing the shock of that realisation for all of us who had worked on the election campaign. As tallying neared completion it was clear that the seat was lost. Free article

The hurling and football championships really began in earnest last Sunday with three intense clashes. Admittedly the actual hurling between Cork and Clare failed to live up to the excitement of the horseplay between the players as they arrived onto the pitch, but sure it's all part of why we love it so much. For once the football outshone the hurling in terms of quality and spectator interest as Donegal overcame Armagh and Wicklow and Louth fought out another draw. Free article

Special ‘Criminal’ Court

The Special ‘Criminal’ Court in Dublin, established on 31 May 1972, has been used for the past 35 years to railroad hundreds of republican activists into jail on trumped up charges without the benefit of a jury or credible evidence. For three-and-a-half decades the Green Street court has opereated basically as a 26 County version of the North’s Diplock... Free article

Well, who would have believed it? After years of urging Labour to do the "decent thing" and put Fine Gael back into power, after having waged the most scurrilous and malicious campaign against Fianna Fáil in the recent election, the Irish Times, the 'paper of record', has changed its mind and its most senior guru, Fintan O'Toole, arbiter of all that is worthy, is now urging Labour to go into government with Fianna Fáil in order to keep the PDs out! Free article

Government whip-round

What is the problem people keep alluding to about the possible bankruptcy of the semi-detached Fianna Fáil TD Beverley Cooper Flynn, who was re-elected as an Independent, preventing her keeping Bertie in power?RTÉ is pursuing Bev for €1.5 million costs from her failed libel case against the Clark Kent of Montrose, Charlie Bird, in connection with allegations... Free article

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